ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The European Union on Thursday announced the designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and a new round of sanctions on officials and state-linked entities, citing “serious human rights violations in Iran” amid the repression of mass protests and Tehran’s continued military backing for Russia's war against Ukraine.

"EU Foreign Ministers just took the decisive step of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X. "Repression cannot go unanswered."

“Iran’s security forces are responsible for mass killings. Today, we are imposing new sanctions on those directly responsible for the violent crackdown on protests that has killed thousands... Because if you act as a terrorist, you should also be treated as a terrorist,” she wrote in an earlier tweet.

Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests since late last year, which have spread to the majority of provinces and increasingly targeted the government. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has reported that Iranian security forces have killed more than 6,100 protesters.

In a press release, the Council of the EU said it had “decided to impose restrictive measures on an additional 15 persons and six entities responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran, following the violent repression of peaceful protests, including the use of violence, arbitrary detention, and intimidation tactics by security forces against demonstrators.”

The latest measures target senior figures in Iran’s security and judicial apparatus. According to the Council, the EU is imposing sanctions on Eskandar Momeni, Iran’s minister of the interior and head of the National Security Council; senior judicial officials including Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad and presiding judge Iman Afshari; as well as “a number of IRGC commanders and high ranking officers of the police and the Law Enforcement Force (LEF).”

“They were all involved in the violent repression of peaceful protests and the arbitrary arrest of political activists and human rights defenders,” the statement read.

The new listings also extend to Iranian media and technology regulators and companies accused of helping the state tighten its grip over the digital space. Entities named include the Iranian Audio-Visual Media Regulatory Authority (SATRA), Seraj Cyberspace Organization, the Working Group for Determining Instances of Criminal Content (WGDICC,) and several software firms.

“These entities were involved in censoring activities, trolling campaigns on social media, spreading disinformation and misinformation online, or contributed to the widespread disruption of access to the internet by developing surveillance and repression tools,” the Council said.

With Thursday’s decision, EU restrictive measures tied to human rights violations in Iran now apply to "a total of 247 individuals and 50 entities.” The sanctions “consist of an asset freeze, travel bans to the EU, and a prohibition to make funds or economic resources available to those listed,” the statement added. A separate “ban on exports to Iran of equipment that might be used for internal repression, including equipment for monitoring telecommunications, is also in place.”

The statement also linked Tehran’s behavior at home to its role abroad, warning that Iran's military support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine “continues to pose a direct threat to EU security.”

The bloc first introduced a sanctions regime focused on human rights abuses in Iran in 2011. Those measures “have been renewed annually since and last extended until 13 of April 2026,” the Council noted.

“Since 2022, the EU has drastically increased restrictive measures, adopting multiple packages of sanctions in the context of growing concerns about the human rights situation in Iran.”

The EU reiterated its support for the Iranian people, saying it “expresses its solidarity with the Iranian people as they voice their legitimate aspiration for freedom and dignity, and for a future where their universal human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected, protected, and fulfilled.”

Iranian Army Chief Amir Hatami pledged a “crushing response” to any potential strike on Thursday, according to state television. The broadcaster also reported that 1,000 “strategic drones” have been integrated into the military’s combat units.

Iran’s parliament speaker said on Thursday that there would be “no negotiations” with the US without guarantees over the rights of Iranians and the country’s economy, after Trump said that a “massive armada” is en route to Iran.

“As long as there is no guarantee for the rights of the Iranian people, economic prosperity, and the dignity of the Iranian nation, there will be no negotiations,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said during an interview with CNN aired on Thursday.

The remarks came as Trump on Wednesday warned that a massive US naval armada is heading toward Iran, saying the fleet is moving fast with “great power, enthusiasm, and purpose,” while calling on Iran to sit at the negotiating table and work out what he called a fair deal that would keep nuclear weapons off the table and benefit everyone involved.

Reacting to the comments, Ali Shamkhani, a top advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, warned on Wednesday that any military action against Tehran would be considered the “start of a war.”

Senior Iranian officials have also reaffirmed the country’s commitment to advancing what it claims are peaceful nuclear initiatives.